The Prep and the Criminal
by Not Rocket Science
Summary: A retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Courtney is an average high school student who feels stuck in a rut until she's forced to teach Duncan, who's been kicked out of school. R
1. AN

**The following disclaimers go for the entire story.**

**Disclaimer#1: I do not own TDI. I am a 13-year-old girl.**

**Disclaimer#2: Why are you reading this? You already know that it's just going to point out the fact that I don't own TDI.**

**Disclaimer#3: I do not own TDI. Stop laughing. You probably don't own it either.**

**Disclaimer#4: Very few people in the world own a TV show like TDI. I am not one of them, though I wish I was.**

**Disclaimer#5: I do not own TDI because.......well, I can't think of something else smart to say, I just like the number 5.**

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**A/N: Okay, so my school does a musical every year, and this year it's "Beauty and the Beast"( I didn't get a part, though a couple of my friends are wolves). My friend has a project in which she has to modernize a fairy tale, so I thought, 'why not'? I have the perfect characters for this modern version...**

**Summary: Courtney is an average high school girl who feels like she's stuck in a rut, until she meets Duncan, a boy who she has to teach since he been kicked out of school so her stepfather won't get sued. You know the rest. Gaston is Justin, the servants are replaced with ghosts, and more things will be explained in the prologue. **

**And yes, I know that there is a lot of CxD fics out there, but they suit my story perfectly, and are NOT my favourite couple by the way. There's no singing, so if you like that, it's probably not for you, and it is a totally different setting, emphasizing the word 'modernize.'**

**Prologue should be up soon,**

** -Rocket Scientist ()()()()():) -------- Marge Simpson**


	2. Prologue

**A/N: Just so there's no confusion, the story switches between Courtney & Duncan's POV, just because I like writing in first person. The prologue is done in Duncan's POV and we'll go from there. So, without further ado, here goes...something!**

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My name is Duncan. I am a perfectly normal kid.

Yeah right.

Maybe I should start from the beginning.

You see, I've always been more of a rebel and a troublemaker. Not that I want to be, I just am. It got worse after my mom died when I was 12. I started stealing, cheating, and other stuff. Which is kinda ironic, since my dad's a cop. He tried to be patient with me, to tolerate me, to understand. We had to move quite a few times for my education. Then came that day. That one, terrible, day.

_It was a trick,_ I tried to tell them. _I was tricked._

But of course, no one believed me.

I had been just walking along, looking for a place to buy some more hair dye, when I saw her. The principal of my school, that is. Mrs. Stanson.

She seemed to see me too. She smiled and went into the store closest to her, leaving her car.

I saw it. She had left it unlocked. The keys were still in the ignition.

I wanted to just walk away, but it called out to me, for me to come.

What happened next, I don't quite remember. I was behind the steering wheel, driving, and hearing Mrs. Stanson's shouts of, "Come back here! Thief!" And about an hour later, I was sitting in the police station, my father and principal staring down at me, scared out of my wits.

Mrs. Stanson said I was expelled. At first I thought, _No biggie, it's happened before_, until I found out that, it was for good this time. Forever.

Of course I tried to explain. Of course I told my dad, the other police, and everyone that it was all the principal's fault. She tricked me.

Did they believe me? Let me put it this way: Do pigs fly?

Of course not.

Then, about a week later, Mrs. Stanson died in a car crash. The new principal, Ms. Logan, was much nicer, if you look at it this way.

She gave me one more chance. One more.

She said that if I could prove that I could behave, to prove that I can follow the rules, that I might be allowed back in school. She also told me that there was one sure fire way I could do that: Make a friend.

That all happened a year ago.

And do you know why I'm not back in school yet? Under house arrest, courtesy of my dad, I gave up trying and lost all hope, for who would _ever_ want to be friends with a dirty, lowlife, criminal?

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**So that's it. What do you think? Be honest, I can take it. Next chapter I will try to get out ASAP, but for now, g2g! R&R!**


	3. Chapter 1: Courtney

**A/N: Okay Flame Rising, lets get one thing straight: You have even less of a life than me. And just to clarify, I have less of a life than your average dolphin, so you SHOULD be insulted.**

**Look, I don't even know why I'm wasting my time telling you this. I don't care what you freaking think. No one does, so get used to it! Okay, your little flames are just random insults that you copy and paste and the 'big' words you use are probably from a thesaurus that you forget 2 seconds later. You don't need to put others down to feel good about yourself. And don't deny it, because my dad's a psychologist.** **I've seen the flames that you give to others, and to put that into perspective, a lot of them are better than some award winning books that I've read. So why don't you go up to the famous authors and tell them exactly what you feel. I just read your little review that you gave me, and I know it's just demented crap. I know I'm not perfect, but it's a heck of a lot better than what you said. So why don't you give up? Everyone hates you.**

**Now, let me ask YOU a few questions of my own: 1: Why haven't you ever given a good review?**

**And more importantly, 2: Why haven't you written a story of your own? If you're going to sit there trashing ours, you OBVIOUSLY think you can do better. So, why don't you prove it, and write a fanfiction of your own? I know: Because you're scared. You're scared that we're going to flame your story too. Well I promise I won't, unless I have to. Here's my challenge to you, Flame Nothing: Write a story. And I promise: I will be 100% truthful to you. I won't lie and mindlessly flame your story unless it's worse than one of ours. Who knows, maybe if it really is better, you'll get my respect. Until then, in my eyes, you'll be nothing than a lowlife, lying, ignorant, coward. And that goes for everyone else too.**

**OKAY, I'm sorry for all the nice people that had to read that. So, back to my story, this chapter is in Courtney's POV, and how she feels.**

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My name is Courtney. I am a perfectly normal girl.

Yup. And currently bored out of my wits.

I put my books in my locker and rested my head against it, letting out a long sigh.

Now, maybe I lied a little bit when I said I am perfecly normal. I originally came from the US, but my stepdad Trent moved to northern Ontario after my mom ran away. I will never fit in here. Ever since I came 6 months ago, no one has really wanted to be my friend, with the exception of maybe Bridgette and Leshawna, but they used me as a third wheel anyway. The reason? I thought that this life here in Canada was boring. I wanted more.

This morning, I came in, books in hand, mind racing, the same old boring routine. I overheard people whispering about me.

_"Oh yes, she so wierd-"_

_"Prep. One word to describe her."_

_"Studyholic, workaholic, perfectionist, bossy-"_

_"She's good looking, I'll give her that, but-"_

I really don't care what people think. Sure, I like being perfect, winning, and getting good grades. But that's the way I am. Just different from everyone else. What's not to complain about? Day in, day out: Same old thing. I even ran into Heather this morning, and her little followers.

"Oh look, if it isn't the over-achieving perfectionist."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, lucky me," I said to no one in particular, "A visit from the queen bee herself."

She grabbed the book I had just finished. "What's this? Lord of the Rings? I'm surprised that you would stoop so low, Courtney."

I took my book back. "Wow, I'm astonished, Heather, that you could read the title. I never thought you'd know how."

And I just walked away, not even bothering to see the look on her face, though it must have been good.

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"Hey Noah," I said cheerfully as I walked into the library a little bit after the incident. Noah was the only other person in the school that In the room. He had his nose buried in his book. I came to him because he volunteered at the school library at recesses.

"Hi," he said back, not looking up from his book.

I waved Lord of the Rings in his face. "Earth to Noah, returning my book."

He finally looked up. "Oh. Sorry, I never thought you would be done that fast."

He grabbed it and checked it in, then handed a blue hardcover to me.

"It's new," he explained. "We don't get much new books, especially with Heather as President, so I thought you might like to read it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a book to get back to."

I took it and looked it over. "Huh," I said out loud as I walked to my locker. The title was "Beauty and the Beast." From what I could tell, it looked pretty good.

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I was snapped out of my daydreaming when I noticed someone walking towards me. Justin, the most popular guy in the school, and by far the most ignorant. Followed by none other than his little "Fan Club," consisting of the two people joined at the brain: Katie and Sadie. They were saying things to each other like, "Oh, isn't he so gorgeous," and backing each other up with an occasional, "I know, right?"

_Great_, I thought._ I really have no time for this._

"Hi Courtney," he said as he leaned against the locker next to mine. "So, what have you been up to lately?"

"Not much."

"Hmph. So, I thought, since you're so bored, maybe we could see a movie sometime."

"No thanks."

"Aww, come on. No one ever says no to Justin."

"Well I believe I just did!" I shot back. I was getting really tired of the so called 'best looking guy in the school.' "Justin, I see the way you look at yourself in the mirror. You're so in love with yourself, there's no room for anyone else in the relationship."

I hated being a bitch, I know. But I hated Heather and Justin more.

Justin just got an astonished look on his face, then walked away, with an expression I couldn't really understand. Katie and Sadie followed, giving me a mean glare before resuming their chat about him. I knew I had to watch out. I heard that he was as smart as he is 'gorgeous.'

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Okay, so I had a bad day. Anything else new?

I rode home on the bus, doing my homework on the way. I almost missed my stop, until my violin fell on top of my papers right before I had to get off.

Walking towards my apartment, I had to walk by Owen's house. Owen was sort of Justin's little (Okay, far from little: He's really, really fat) sidekick. Not that Owen's a cruel person, he's just easily manipulated. Plus he gets that look: the look most girls get when they look at Justin. I personally don't think he's, erm, gay, but he is very weird.

Today, of all days, Justin just had to be in Owen's front yard with him. Owen called out to me

"Hey!" he said with a laugh. "Justin said that you rejected him. Why would anyone ever do that?"

"Ugh!" I screamed out loud. "I really have no time for this! For the last time, Justin, I do not, I repeat, DO NOT, want to go out with you! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get home and help my stepdad."

Owen laughed again, then farted. Yes, he was the type of guy who did things like that. "That crazy old man?" he asked. "He's so weird, you need a new word to describe how weird he is."

"Hey!" I countered. "Don't talk about Trent that way!"

To my surprise, Justin actually defended me. Or maybe he was still trying to get a date. "Yeah, don't talk about her stepdad that way," he told Owen. "So, Courtney, I'm going to ask you one last time-"

"I won't even consider it."

I was so stressed, it was not even funny. I just kept walking, and walking, until I couldn't hear their stupid voices anymore.

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"Trent, I'm home!"

"Oh hey," he greeted me, a tone of fright in his voice.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing," he said. "Just got this letter from my boss, is all. He says he'll sue me if-well, let's not look at it that way. I'm pretty sure it's not that important, and if I go to his house on the other side of town, I'll be able to straighten it out. I won't be gone long, sweetie, just stay here until I get back." He grabbed his coat and left the house swiftly, his feet almost never appearing to touch the ground.

I turned on the lights in the house and paced around, wondering what to do. I practiced my violin for a while, then worked on my president's speech, planning to dethrone Heather by next year, and finished my homework. Then my eyes drifted to the blue hardcover book sitting on my desk, looking out of place. I picked it off and started reading. I admit it was a great book, fantasy with a little twist between evil and good.

Eventually it got so late and Trent still never got home, so I went to bed. As I snuggled under my covers, I thought about all that had happened. Not as boring as yesterday, or the day before that. So even if it was stressful, it was at least beggining to get exiting.

But little did I know that this was was only the start of the most wild and crazy adventure of my life. Oh yeah. It wasn't going to be boring for long.

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**Okay, well there we go. The only reason I can't update daily is because my mom is always on my case about "ruining my eyes by using the computer for long periods of time." As I am typing this, she is currently telling me to get off the computer. Next chapter will probably be up...........3-6 days from now. Bye!**

**-Rocket Scientist**


	4. Chapter 2: Duncan

**A/N: Ugh....don't ask, lousy day, ran into my locker...tired. Well, let's get this chapter on. Duncan's POV (And there will be a THIRD POV later in the story for one chapter: try to guess before then) So, to my loyal fans, here's Chapter 2!**

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**Beep...**

**...**

**Beep...**

**...**

**Beep...**

Huh? What?

Oh. Crap.

I slammed a fist on the alarm and climbed out of bed, yawning.

In the bathroom, I combed my short black and green hair up into a nice mohawk and splashed my face with cold water, trying to get rid of the dark circles that surrounded my eyes. People always argued that I looked more like my mom. I dunno. I never really took that into consideration. All I know is that my name is Duncan and I'm not a normal kid. Period.

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As I walked into the dining room, a familiar face greeted me.

"Hey," Cody said as he floated (Yes floated) towards the kitchen table with my food. "Have a nice night?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," I answered. I sat down and began to eat. I caught a glimpse of DJ, Eva, Lindsay, Izzy, Ezekiel, and Harold cleaning up, floating through walls and whatnot, doing whatever ghosts do.

Yes, if you haven't figured it out yet, I live in a haunted house. Though they prefer not to use that term; they say that they are just 'temporarily living in my mansion.'

Guess what? They have to. Until I leave that is. Something to do with a deal with the devil they made when they were alive. Needed to stay here till I got out. And I really don't think that's going to happen.

It's actually easier having your own personal servants. My dad didn't know about them: he was gone all day, returning somewhere between 8 and 10 PM. I could almost laugh at his face the first time he came home and saw that the house was completely clean.

Almost.

Now, I'm pretty sure I don't surprise anyone when I say that it's really boring here. My dad tried to get me some private teachers, but one look at me and the cliche line was "Sorry, I'm too busy."

The ghosts were no help either. Always bugging me about trying harder to get back into school, about getting a friend. Sure. I really want to tell them to just shut up. I'm practically going insane with the pressure.

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After breakfast, I went into the front yard. Outside, the first thing I saw was the chain fence around the huge mansion (yes, we live in a mansion, it was inherited) and the numerous padlocks on the inside, designed to keep me out.

It was stupid. I mean, who freaking puts _padlocks_on their fences? I know I'm not allowed to leave, but I'm not going to sneak out. Besides, I could if I wanted to. Scaling that fence would be no problem. I'm starting to wonder if they're meant to have a psychological effect on me.

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I passed the rest of the time today watching TV, like any other day. But later that night, when I was looking for a new movie to watch in my room, I heard voices in the main hall.

"Um....hey.." began a shaky demented voice-one I did not recognize.

"Hi!" Izzy practically screamed. She never had much of a quiet side. "We _never_ get guests! Have a seat!"

"Gee...thanks...."

_Dammit_, I thought._ They're not supposed to reveal themselves to anyone......_

"Hey, guys," said Cody. "Remember what Duncan said."

"Aww, come on, Cody, Have a heart!" argued Izzy. "Look at this poor delusional soul-"

"Hey!"

She ignored the man. "And who would we be to toss this weird old man out into the street? He's welcome here!"

Lindsay then approached him. "Are you Tyler?" she asked.

"Uhhhh...."

"Oh ignore her," DJ told the guy as he pushed her aside. "She's a little absent minded."

DJ left the room and returned a second later, with a cup of tea.

"Would you like some tea?" he asked kindly.

_Idiots,_ I thought.

"Hey, who are you and what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Uh oh," I heard from Eva.

"He's in for it now, eh," said Ezekiel.

And in the blink of an eye, they vanished into thin air. Cowards.

"Look, what do you want?" I asked angrily.

"I-I just wanted to see... erm...uh...Mr. Barnett.... i-if he lives here that is-"

"Well he's not home, weirdo! What do you want to see him for."

"Uh....he's my boss and I really wanted to talk to him-"

He caught the angry look on my face. Probably got the message.

"I'm sorry to bother you. I'll come back another time."

The guy started to get up and leave, but not before I told him not to mention the ghosts to anyone.

But as bad luck would have had it, just then my dad decided to return.

"Trent?" he asked. "What happened to you? What are you doing h- Duncan! Have you been scaring him?"

I shrugged. If my dad wanted to talk to this crazy guy Trent, he could for all I care.

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"That was harsh, Duncan," Harold half whispered to me in my room.

"Oh shut it, geek," I snapped. What? He was one.

So that's everyday life for me. Hang around the house bored, leave everything to the ghosts, terrorize the guests, etcetera etcetera. All in a days work for yours truly.

Well, it was. At least until she came along.

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**Okay, that was short, I know. Some chapters will be like that. I don't like writing super long ones because deadlines are so hard to meet when you're a 13 year old girl who is technically a genius and has lots of homework and chores. But enough about me. I've had a lot of questions about TV and entertainment. I've never really paid attention before:**

**TDI/TDA: Courtney appears in the theme song of TDA and the group photo, but is not a participant. What's up with that? Will she come in the middle of the season like Eva and Izzy did in TDI?**

**Will there be a sixth season for Teen Titans? Doesn't the company have a mind of their own instead of using the comic book to base the show on?**

**Will K.A. Applegate finish her series of Animorphs? The last book is titled "The Beginning" ironically.**

**Will Stephen Hawking finally discover the Theory of Everything?**

**Will I get into the top 25% of the Gauss Math Contest that my teacher told me to do?**

**Will I ever get a skydiving licence?**

**Oh wow, I got off topic. Now, I'm pretty sure I'm just delaying the time to update this and my mom's telling me to get off the computer to do Chinese homework, so I'm just quickly going to spell check and present this to you.**

**Happy Reading,**

**-Rocket Scientist**


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